Crate.



` W. BEEHLBR.

CRATE.

APPLIUATIGN FILED LUG. 11, 1910.

Patented. Apr. 9, 1912.

WMe/am trof/MA,

"UNiTED sTATEsy PArEnroFFioa.

WILLIAM BEELER, OF OWOSSO, MICHIGANQASSIGNOR OF ONEHALFTO BERTRON K.

BOYD, OF OWOSSO, MICHIGAN. l i

' CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led Augustv 11, 1910. Serial e. 576,640.

Patented Apr; 9, 191,2.

being had to the accompanying drawing in which, y

Figure l is a perspective view of a crate embodying the invention; andYFig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail of the same.

As shown in the drawing the body of the crateis made up of a series ofside slats 1 and end slats -2 with the ends of the slats overlapped andvpivotally connected 'at each corner of the crate by a pivot Wire?) eX-ytending tirough vertical. holes in the Overp lapping ends of the slats.At the upper and lower corners at each end of the crate is a cross barespaced from the adjacent end slat 2 by the top and bottom side slats lupon which the cross bars are secured by the wires 3 passing throughholes therein. Each wire at itsk lower end is bent around the lowercross bar 4. When' these wires have been inserted through' the bottomcross bars 4, the sideand end slatslare then ,alten nately strung uponthe wires which are'held in upright position, and after the top bars 4are strung on, the upper'ends 7 of the wires are bent laterally over theinner edges of these bars and formed down, thus pivot- 1The crate isprovided with a top closure l 8 and a bottom closure 9, which closuresare preferably made alike, butter the purpose of illustrating a modifiedconstruction of closure, in the drawings, the bottom closure is shown asslightly different. in construction from the top closure.

The top closure is formed of'af'series of longitudinally extendingstrips 10 which are connected and held together to form the closure, bya transverse fulcrum strip or board 11 nailed across the upper side ofthe longitudinalstrips intermediate their ends. The vclosure formed bythe longitudinal strips is of a width to fit between the upper sideslats of the crate and the tulcrum strip 1l is slightly longerthan thewidth of the closure so that its projecting ends will engage the upperedges of said slats and hold the closure from being foicedinto thecrate. rlhe cross bars 4 which forni the. upper and lower sides of theends of the crate are each rabbeted, forming a rabbet and a rib orflange 12 along one side of the bar and said bars are secured by thepivot "wires upon the ends of the top and bottom side slats with. saidends within the rabbets and abutting the ribs. Saidl ribs thus lieoutside the vertical plane of each end 'of the crate and thelongitudinal strips 10 of the closures areof substantially the sameylength as the length of said side slats and are adapted, `when .theclosure is in place, to fit between said ribsI or flanges 12 0n thestwoadjacent cross bars. Y

, The closure is inserted by placing one'end of the strips 10 beneaththe flange 12 of one of the cross bars with its fulcrum strip resting-upon the upper edge of the side slats of the body, as illustrated in'Fig'. 2. Then by springing the opposite ends of said strips 10 -inwardand moving the closure longitudinally, said opposite ends are broughtbeneath the cross bars at that end of the crate, and further endwisemovement will move the ends of the strips engaging the flange 12pastsaid flange and said ends will spring upward into the rabbet at theinner side of said flange.. The said'strips l0 will then be vheld by thefulcrumstrip with their upper surface in the plane of the upper edges ofthe side slats and between the ports and holds theclosurein place untilsaid strips 10 are again depressed at oneend below the flange 12 of onebar, and the closure moved longitudinally yto disengage the oppositeends of said' strips from beneath the other cross bar. The lower closure9 is made and inserted in the sam-e manner except that instead of onefulcruin strip being used, two fulcrum strips 13 are secured tol thelongitudinal strips 10 at a distance Vfrom the ends of said strips. i

HavingA thus fully described my invention what I claim is 1. A cratecomprising side and end inembers, a closure having a transverse fulcrum'closure having e transverse with lits ends beneath fthe end members andmeans on one end member projecting inwardly therefrom to limit thelongitudinal movement of the closure, said closure being adapted to bepressed inward at oneend and moved endwise past said means to disengageits opposite end from the other end member.

2. A crate comprising side members, end members rabbeted along theirIinner sides, a ulcrum strip engaging the side members and supportingsaid closure between said members with its ends within the rabbets ofthe end members and limited in its longitudinal movement thereby, saidclosure being adapted to be pressed inward at one end out of entgegementwith the rabbet of one e'nd member and moved endwise to disengege itsopposite end from the other end member.

3. A crate comprising slde and end slats having overlapping andpivotally connected ends, end cross bars each rabbeted to form a ribalong one edge, said bars being secured upon the ends of the outer sideslats with the ends of said slats Within said rab- 'bets and the ribs onthe bars projecting outside of the vertical plane of the creteend, and aclosure between the side slats with its ends within the rabbets of thecross bars, said closure being provided with e transverse fulcrum stripintermediate its ends engaging the side slats to support the closure andto permit one end thereof to be depressed out of the horizontal plane ofthe ri'b on the adjacent cross ber, whereby the closure may be movedendwise to disengage its opposite end from the other cross bar.

In testimony whereof I have aiiixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

l WILLIAM BEEI-ILER. Witnesses:

STEPHEN BROPHY,

D. C. HART.

